Press Coverage

THE GOOD NEWS 6 June 2005

Bridlington Artist Helps Bahraini Women

Gail Miller, who creates original contemporary artwork in the attic bedroom of her sleepy seaside home in Bridlington, was recently asked to ship five of her paintings to Bahrain for an art exhibition, in aid of the country's needy women and children, after her auctions were spotted by a charity on eBay. The Palm Association was set up in the latter half of 2000 to raise funds in order to offer support to Bahraini women and children in financial distress.

It was the charity's chairperson, a Mrs Shaheen, who found and bought Gail's work for the exhibition she was organising. Due to open in September, it brings together artists' work from all around the world. Gail has become used to sending her artwork all over the world and hasn't looked back since she stumbled upon the eBay auction site by accident four years ago. It's hard to believe that before this she hadn't even picked up a paint brush since college. Selling via the Internet has given her the career in art she'd always dreamed of. Listing her vibrant original artwork she often works 18 hours a day to fulfil orders.

"Being able to create art, which I love to do, and get paid for it, is a dream come true," says Gail. "This time, though, the sale of my paintings will be helping people less fortunate than myself, and this gives me a great deal of satisfaction."

BRIDLINGTON FREE PRESS 12 January 2006

A-list Draw For Pictures

A Bridlington rtist is hoping her paintings will capture the heart of a celebrity at a star-studded Valentine's charity auction in London. Gail Miller has been asked to donate two pictures for the A-list event, which will raise money for the Chain Of Hope, an organisation which provides heart surgery for Third World children. Auction organisers spotted her bright and vibrant work in an art magazine and approached Gail, inviting her to take in the event, which has a heart theme. She said: "Some of the people who donated pictures last year included Rupert Everett, Richard Gere, Joanna Lumley, Trevor Sorbie, Christian Slater, Jack Dee, Ronnie Wood, Tracey Emin, Ulrika Jonsson, Ricky Gervais, Richard Branson, Zandra Rhodes, Omar Sharif, Felicity Kendal, Sara Cox, Anneka Rice, Bruce Oldfield and Tim Henman.

Gail said "This year the organisers have had paintings in from Sarah Ferguson and Richard E Grant, so I am going to be in very well-known company. There are going be a lot of star names attending and donating pictures. It's beyond my wildest dreams that I would get chosen for such a high profile event in the first place. As for a celebrity buying one of my pictures – well that would be just fabulous. It would give my art career a boost and obviously raise the value of my artwork. Those who already own some of my paintings will find that they will have increased in value more or less overnight."

"Being chosen for this charity event will hopefully give Bridlington a boost too. "We are all trying to promote a 'Thriving Bridlington' and hopefully if I get to the actual event I will be able to extol the virtues of our town to southerners." In the meantime, Gail's work can be seen at Burlington Gallery in High Street, Bridlington, throughout January.

BRIDLINGTON FREE PRESS 2 March 2006

Star Turn For Gail

BRIDLINGTON artist Gail Miller rubbed shoulders with the stars at a charity auction in London. She met TV presenters Ulrika Jonsson and Annika Rice, agony aunt Claire Raynor and Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus at the event. And her paintings which went under the hammer raised £230 for the Chain Of Hope charity, which sends medical teams to Africa to carry out vital surgery. Gail's next charity auction will be held on Saturday, April 1. It will be raising money for CAMFED, the Campaign for Female Education which is dedicated to fighting poverty and AIDS in rural communities in Africa by educating girls.

In the meantime, she has found a novel way of advertising her work, by displaying her website address on a human billboard. Another artist Katriona Godward advertised her stomach as advertising space on the auction website eBay. Gail's bid was the highest and this weekend Katriona will be walking around Glasgow's pubs and shops with Gail's website painted around her bellybutton.

"The concept really appealed to my eccentric side. It was a close, fought-out fight between myself and another bidder, who also wanted to use Katriona's tummy, but in the end I managed to win. "Katriona has a gorgeous tummy so I am thrilled to have the use of it all next weekend. "Hopefully it will raise awareness of my business and give people a smile or two into the bargain," said Gail.

JOHN VERSUS THOM ~ BRIDLINTON FREE PRESS November 2006

THIS week John and Thom face a watercolour challenge. The Channel Four cameras were not rolling but the idea was the same as the TV programme – who can paint the best picture of a scene of Bridlington? The chaps are more used to words than pictures but this was a chance to see who has got the most creative flair and the ability to brush their opponent aside. The unenviable job of teaching two amateurs how to produce a masterpiece in under an hour belonged to local artist Gail Miller. Gail is best-known for her striking, colourful, abstract, acrylic paintings – so it was as much of a challenge for her as it was for the Free Press reporters. After tossing a coin to decide who would be copying which image, Thom ended up choosing a picture of the north beach while John went for a sunset over the harbour. They were both a dab hand with the brush but who had that extra stroke of genius?

Judge Gail said: "John's is good because it has got bold colours. He didn't hold back and he had a really good go at it. It is good and quite abstract. "Thom's painting has a more traditional look to it. "It has got atmosphere because he has used moody colours which really give a feel of a cold, wintry day on the beach. "One is very warm and one is cold, maybe that is a reflection of personalities because personalities come through in all art.

"They were very good for first attempts and both John and Thom were enthusiastic. There is definitely potential there, they just need a bit of practice and to learn the techniques." So Gail was faced with a tough decision, one she needed to take a lot of time over. But in the end she said: "They are both good in their own ways but I am going to choose the one that I think more people in Bridlington would choose as their favourite, which is Thom's because it's more traditional."